In The
Architect's Brain: Neuroscience, Creativity, and Architecture,
Harry Francis Mallgrave stays true to form by offering a
thought-provoking historical commentary, which allows us to look at
architecture in a new light. There is, however, one departure:
everything is slanted toward the spatial effect on humanity's
neurological and emotional state.

The book has two sections. The first is
informative, insightful, and enjoyable. It examines architecture's
engagement with human perception throughout history.
Understandably, there is a fair amount of reference to
phenomenology. The second section considers the anatomy of the
brain, as well as recent developments in neuroscience and their
connection to architecture. While the biological descriptions read
a bit dry, the following commentary in those chapters constitutes
some of the most exciting content in the book.

Dancer Martha Howe is captured in a long
exposure by Ralph S. Steenblik

The epilogue gives stern warnings about
computation by shedding a pessimistic outlook on the opportunities
that computational tools have, especially in collaboration with the
brain. This was equal parts surprising and disappointing, as the
rest of the text had been building optimistic momentum. Now, any
anticipation for future progress is abruptly halted in the cautions
found in the last pages.

From a purely phenomenological perspective,
computation may be somewhat stifling. However, another outlook
could be much more optimistic about the ability of computational
assistance to create phenomenologically sensitive spaces. For
instance, there is no mention of someone like Ray Kurzweil or the
singularity, nor does Mallgrave explore how computational
integration into the brain could be beneficial for the architect's
brain or spaces created by architects. Likewise, there are
computational tools - such as augmentation (that add to one's
spatial sensations and the neuro-emotional responses in relation to
experiencing spaces) - that are not addressed directly in the
book.

On the other hand, while curating an
exhibition on interactive spaces, I made heavy use of the
historical section of this book, which references emotion and
spatial response. Mallgrave's exploration of the word symmetry was
particularly enlightening. Vitruvius used the term symmetria.
Cicero and Alberti used concinnitas. All are translated into
English as symmetry.

Alberti and Cicero's use of concinnitas may
be referring to the idea of balance rather than symmetry,
where the former allows for greater freedom in
interpreting the authors' intention. For example, Cicero and
Alberti may have been much less interested in compositional
symmetry and much more interested in compositional balance. This
semantic decision creates a much more expansive discussion within
design discourse. It is inclusive of the anexact, fractality, and
balanced time-based composition. Thus, as the tools and
capabilities for composing at higher dimensions become more
accessible, architects will be able to strive for concinnitas, or
balanced compositions, regardless of the dimensional consideration.
One example is "Invisible Architectures" by Marcos
Novak.

Marcos Novak's Invisible
Architecture as featured in TIMEless. Photograph by Ralph
S.Steenblik

Overall, The Architect's Brain is a
worthwhile read for a dedicated architectural audience.